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Since yesterday, 22,046 new corona infections have been recorded in Germany. The death toll remains high at 479. Health Minister Spahn wants teachers and educators to be able to test themselves.
German health authorities have reported 22,046 new corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) since yesterday. That’s about 200 fewer cases than on Thursday a week ago. Therefore, the infection rate remains high. With 479 new deaths, health authorities also reported the second highest level since the start of the pandemic. The previous high of 487 deaths was reached yesterday. The total number of people who died from a proven Sars-CoV-2 infection in Germany rose to 17,602.
In total, the RKI recorded around 1.1 million infections. It is estimated that around 800,000 people have recovered. According to RKI’s management report, the so-called seven-day R-value was 0.89, like yesterday. This means that, in theory, 100 infected people infect 89 more people. The value represents the onset of infection 8-16 days ago. If the value is below the value of 1 for a longer period of time, the infection rate decreases.
Self-assessments for teachers and educators
According to the RKI, there have been 636 corona outbreaks in schools since the start of the pandemic. According to a newspaper report by the Funke media group, around 64 outbreaks per week have been reported for the past four weeks. A third of these were registered in schoolchildren between 15 and 20 years old, and among those between 6 and 10 years old the outbreaks were less than 20 percent. According to the data, the proportion of infection cases in schools was around two percent.
To keep schools and daycare centers open, teachers and educators must be able to get tested for the corona virus after receiving proper training. “Nursery schools and schools or their providers can independently obtain and use rapid tests starting Friday,” said Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn. Rapid antigen tests could help to better protect teachers and educators, and therefore children as well.
Until now, these tests have only been allowed by trained medical personnel. With a new regulation going into effect tomorrow, self-testing should be allowed. In addition, school authorities may conduct tests on site if required by trained personnel. “This is another option that is suitable for everyday use to allow children to go to daycare or school even in times of pandemic,” Spahn said.
